I think there are many possible reasons for someone to claim that they are a prophet. It all depends on the person; some may do it because they
believe they are prophets, others may know they are not and prophesize regardless. (Because they want attention or power or something like that.)

I have always wondered why someone would believe they are a prophet. For example, Ti and Do from Heaven's Gate thought they were the two witnesses
mentioned in the Bible. Why would they believe such a thing?

I think many of these people have a thread-like attachment to the reality most people share. The people who make up prophecies and the people
who choose to believe them indulge in a fantasy world where this kind of thing is actually 'real.' Perhaps it's like a covenant between attention
seekers and worriers?

Like you point out, some have bought the BS to the point of making themselves physically ill with worry or just killing themselves. Whatever bizarre
psychology drives someone to make prophecies...they should be aware of the 100% fail rate. It's not good enough for the cranks to try dodging the
bullet by saying 'end of the world.....as we know it,' after the fact. It's just holiday island for the dull-witted.

The members of Heaven's Gate wanted to "evacuate the Earth". They believed a spaceship would take them (or rather their souls) to a higher level of
existence. I think it is fair to say that the members of the cult were heavily influenced by their leaders, the couple Ti and Do. Ti and Do claimed to
have had some vision which lead them to believe they were the two witnesses mentioned in the Bible. (I think it somewhere in Revelation but I could be
wrong. I can look it up if you like.) I have written a paper about Heaven's Gate once and this is the part that always gets me. How and why did they
come to the conclusion that they were prophets? How did they know the difference between a vision and a delusion? I have no idea.

maybe its spiritual influence like angels and demons.
those "prophets" which got false inspiration and go a wrong way in their beliefs, and on the other hand people which got the right stuff, like
jesus, muhamed and bhudda.

I think some people pay attention to certain issues within their time periods. And after assessing the issues many feel that the time of JUDGMENT is
near or upon them. I think 85% of the time its done out of compassion for the species and some feeling the need to want to warn others of doom thats
near. 10% want attention and 5% may be mentally ill.

As far as them being Prophets, I dont know. John of Patmos is 1 that comes to mind as a prophet because he was visited and given data from ANGELIC.
The many other Shaman, seers and psychics over time that are not writters of the great books, I consider them just that Shaman, seers and psychics not
even downing them nor their potentials because their information may be = as valuable, I just associate Prophets with certain religions.

Thru time some are driven from deep within with a force that kind of lets them see hints of future situations. How this occures I dont know. But in
general I feel most can tap into this projection ability, it just depends on your mental capacity.

Personally, over time I have noticed many things that I was given hints to come to pass. Things like in 2001 when 9/11 happened, I seen that as a
BRIDGE TO THE MIDDLE EAST? But that makes me no prophet nor seer nor psychic, even though I was right. Also I seen the possible future of mankind,
dont know if its for sure but I visualized it being -CLONES-CYBORGS-BIOENGINEERED ENHANCEMENTS OF HUMAN BODY-ROBOTS/SYNTHETIC AND MECHANICAL MABEY
BOTH AND OF COURSE COMPUTERS BUT THE MAJOR THING WAS ALIENS yes E.T.z??? I know wild right but this is what I seen for the future of Earth 10 years
ago when everyone was y2k happy. Funny thing is since y2k the world has been slipping?????? Wth is that. But again I feel many can tap in but some
are just stronger then others with what they receive back....

The most important thing of ALL that I keep in mind is that the TRUE day of JUDGMENT can not and will not be told until JESUS himself is awakened or
told, remember this day is only known to ALPHA not even ANGELS know!!! So noone can really tell but still some can predict major negative issues that
may come to pass. But if the SON of GOD isnt even told when how can any others...
Nice question OP..S&F

Personally, over time I have noticed many things that I was given hints to come to pass.

i believe in "gifts from the gods" sort of speak.
how do your visions work ? you see them in dreams or like pictures in your mind when you are awake?

[edit on 13-8-2010 by icepack]

When I am just going thru my everyday life situations I may just go into deep thought about something I seen on tv or the net or news paper. WHen I
do see something that captures my attention I think about it and while in deep thought the imagination begins to ponder potentially related effects to
the cause that has my attention. Like seeing 9/11 went into deep thought and felt like damn the middle east is about to experience some real ish. Or
when watching various scientific shows and something grabs my attention like nano bots, I begin to look deeper into related effects these may have and
then the vision comes thru. But as stated I am no shaman-seer-psychic and I do believe many possess the same abilities when they concentrate.

What I find interesting is that these thousands of "prophets" are all from the past handful of centuries. It makes me wonder what kind of warnings
and predictions were forecasted back before we were recording our history.

The only one that really frightens me is Edgar Cayce though, because that guy was just UNCANNY.

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